Diget Christensen, Kim

Pagh Jensen, Flemming

Tøttrup, Anders Peter

English

Copenhagen University Research Information System

u n i ve r s i t y  o f  co pe n h ag e n  Københavns UniversitetFirst records of Mottled Swift Tachymarptis aequatorialis and Alpine Swift T. melba forNigerDiget Christensen, Kim; Tøttrup, Anders Peter; Pagh Jensen, FlemmingPublished in:African Bird Club. BulletinPublication date:2006Document versionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordCitation for published version (APA):Diget Christensen, K., Tøttrup, A. P., & Pagh Jensen, F. (2006). First records of Mottled Swift Tachymarptisaequatorialis and Alpine Swift T. melba for Niger. African Bird Club. Bulletin, 13(1), 82-83.Download date: 02. Feb. 202082 – Bull ABC Vol 13 No 1 (2006) First records of Mottled Swift and Alpine Swift for Niger: Christensen et al.In 2004 we made bird observations in Niger aspart of the Project Régional de Lutte Integréecontre les Sauteriaux au Sahel (PRéLISS), whichwas initiated in 2002 and funded by the DanishInternational Development Agency (DANIDA).During this project intensive ornithologicalresearch was conducted and in 2003 four speciesthat were new to Niger were recorded(Christensen et al. 2005). We report two otheradditions to the country’s avifauna, recorded dur-ing the survey in 2004.Mottled SwiftOn 27 August 2004, at 08.30 hrs, a large darkswift with a paler belly was discovered in a mixedflock of Common Swifts Apus apus, Little SwiftsA. affinis and African Palm Swifts Cypsiurus parvusnear the Grand Hôtel, Niamey (zone 2 inGiraudoux et al. 1988). It was observed for c.10minutes until the flock disappeared to the otherside of the river. A few minutes later the large swiftreturned with the flock and flew above us foranother five minutes. It was clearly larger than theother species in the flock and its wingbeats werenoticeably slower. We estimated that its wingspanwas c.30% larger than that of the Common Swifts.The plumage was dark brown overall, but the bellywas mottled paler brown to grey and the throatwas grey. The tail was forked. These are diagnosticfeatures of Mottled Swift Tachymarptis aequatori-alis (Borrow & Demey 2001). The only otherswift of that size is Alpine Swift T. melba, whichhas a white belly and throat, and is well known tous. The distribution of Mottled Swift in WestAfrica is patchy and inadequately known. It hasbeen recorded from Guinea to eastern Chad andnorth-east Central African Republic (Fry et al.1988, Borrow & Demey 2001). The nearestrecords are c.400 km to the north-west in Maliand c.500 km to the west in Burkina Faso (Balança& de Visscher 1993, Dowsett & Dowsett-Lemaire2005), only a short distance for a large swift. Thisis the first documented record of Mottled Swift forNiger: the species is not included in Dowsett’s(1993) checklist for the country and is notmapped for Niger in Borrow & Demey (2001). Alpine SwiftOn 31 August 2004, at 07.30 hrs, a flock of swifts,containing 14 Common Swifts and six AlpineSwifts, was found c. 65 km west of Zinder in west-ern Niger (13o69’N 09o57’E, zone 3 in Giraudouxet al. 1988). The birds were foraging fairly low at15–20 m above the ground in excellent light,making viewing conditions ideal. They wereobserved for ten minutes before they disappearedto the south. The Alpine Swifts were c.20% largerthan the Common Swifts and had distinctivelyslower wingbeats. The upperparts were uniformlybrown and contrasted with the pure white bellyand throat, which were separated by a dark brown-ish breast-band. The dark brownish tail was shal-lowly forked. The underwing-coverts appearedbrownish with slightly paler flight-feathers.Mottled Swift, the only other large swift in Africa,has very differently coloured and patternedunderparts. Alpine Swift is a Palearctic passage migrantand winter visitor to West Africa, from Mauritaniato Liberia east to Cameroon, with large flocksbeing frequently recorded in Ghana, Togo andFirst records of Mottled Swift Tachymarptis aequatorialisand Alpine Swift T. melba for NigerKim Diget Christensena, Anders P. Tøttrupb and Flemming Pagh JensencPremières mentions pour le Niger du Martinet marbré Tachymarptis aequatorialis et duMartinet alpin T. melba. Les auteurs documentent la découverte de deux espèces nouvelles pourle Niger. Un Martinet marbré Tachymarptis aequatorialis a été observé dans un groupe mixte demartinets près du Grand Hôtel à Niamey, le 27 août 2004. Six Martinets alpins T. melba ont étévus en compagnie de 14 Martinets noirs Apus apus à environ 65 km à l’ouest de Zinder (13o69’N09o57’E), le 31 août 2004.01 Crowes ABC No.25  27/3/06  12:10 pm  Page 82Bull ABC Vol 13 No 1 (2006) – 83First records of Mottled Swift and Alpine Swift for Niger: Christensen et al.Nigeria (Fry et al. 1988, Borrow & Demey 2001).Although it has been reported to breed on theBandiagara escarpment, central Mali, where com-mon (Thiollay 1974), this has recently been ques-tioned by Dowsett & Dowsett-Lemaire (2005).The observed birds are most likely Palearctic visi-tors from north-west Africa or Europe. Migrationthrough the southern Palearctic occurs mainly inSeptember–October, though there is some south-ward movement in August by juveniles at least(Cramp 1985). In Mali, birds are said to arrive inSeptember–October (Lamarche 1980). Thisappears to be the first documented record ofAlpine Swift for Niger. Although Fry et al. (1988)mention records of 2–200 Alpine Swifts in Nigerand Nigeria, we have not been able to track theorigin of these records and the species is notincluded in Dowsett’s (1993) checklist for thecountry, nor is it mapped or mentioned for Nigerin Borrow & Demey (2001).AcknowledgementsThe Danish International Development Agency(DANIDA) is thanked for financing the PRéLISSproject. Ron Demey and Françoise Dowsett-Lemaireare thanked for useful comments on a draft of thisnote.ReferencesBalança, G. & de Visscher, M. N. 1993. Nouvelles don-nées de distribution pour deux espèces d’oiseaux auBurkina Faso. Malimbus 15: 89–90.Borrow, N. & Demey, R. 2001. Birds of Western Africa.London, UK: Christopher Helm.Christensen, K. D., Tøttrup, A. P., Rahner, M. C. &Brouwer, J. 2005. First records for Niger of Red-chested Cuckoo Cuculus solitarius, Grassland PipitAnthus cinnamomeus, Buff-bellied WarblerPhyllolais pulchella and Isabelline Shrike Laniusisabellinus. Bull. ABC 12: 162–164.Cramp, S. (ed.) 1985. The Birds of the WesternPalearctic. Vol. 4. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Dowsett, R. J. 1993. Afrotropical avifaunas: annotatedcountry checklists. Niger. Tauraco Res. Rep. 5:97–102. Dowsett, R. J.  & Dowsett-Lemaire, F. (2005) On theapparent status of Mottled Swift Apus(Tachymarptis) aequatorialis and Alpine Swift A. (T.)melba in Mali, West Africa. Bull. Br. Ornithol.Cl.125: 296–298.Fry, C. H., Keith, S., & Urban, E. K.(eds.) 1988. TheBirds of Africa. Vol. 3. London, UK: AcademicPress.Giraudoux, P., Degauquier. R., Jones, P. J., Weigel, J. &Isenmann, P. 1988. Avifaune du Niger: état desconnaissances en 1986. Malimbus 10: 1–140.Lamarche, B. 1980. Liste commentée des oiseaux duMali, 1ère partie. Malimbus 2: 121–158.Thiollay, J.-M. 1974. Nidification du Martinet pâleApus pallidus et du Martinet alpin Apus melba enAfrique occidentale. Alauda 42: 223–225.aTraegaarden 2. 2.tv., DK-2300 Copenhagen S,Denmark. E-mail: kim@diget.dkbZoological Museum, University of Copenhagen,Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø,Denmark. E-mail: aptottrup@zmuc.ku.dkcDDH Consulting A/S, Ringstedvej 20, DK-4000Roskilde, Denmark, E-mail: fpj@Hedeselskabet.dkReceived 14 February 2005; revision accepted 5 July200501 Crowes ABC No.25  27/3/06  12:10 pm  Page 83

First records of Mottled Swift Tachymarptis aequatorialis and Alpine Swift T. melba for Niger

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First records of Mottled Swift Tachymarptis aequatorialis and Alpine Swift T. melba for Niger

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